Playing balls of the type such as softball or baseball normally consist of a core and a leather cover with the cover having the standard figure 8 stitching associated therewith.
Proposals have been made to substitute a standard leather covered ball with balls having preselected cores and molded covers. One such proposal is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 2,645,487 issued July 14, 1953 to E. H. Hawes. In that particular application, a spherical core, having a strand winding thereon, has bonded thereto a cover of latex which consists of an integrated unitary one-piece shell. The outer surface includes an embossment having a figure 8 series of stitch-like mounds arranged along a juncture-imitating line and also, within the weld itself, has depressions which are dot-like in order to similate needle holes which appear in the stitching of a standard ball. The resultant ball, while somewhat resembling a baseball, is clearly distinguishable over such a ball and does not render itself to competition which would require that the ball be very similar to and react similarly to a standard ball.
Another illustration of this type of ball is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,938,237 issued May 31, 1960 to Kern et al. This patent discloses a method of covering a ball with a cover made from a liquid mixture of vinyl resin and plasticizer used for coating the surface of a cavity in a separable mold with a layer of the mixture, heating the layer to a tacky gel, splitting the layer into parts by opening the mold and placing a preformed core on the layer in the mold and closing the mold and applying heat to fuse the said layer parts together with the core. This proposed ball also contains an embossment similar to the stitching on a standard ball. It has no provision for attempting to show any stitch holes in the ball.
The present invention discloses a mold and the method of making the mold and the resultant molded softball or baseball having a cover of vinyl, urethane or other applicable polymers either by themselves or in mixtures or as alloys. The cover is such that it imparts leather-like feel, smell, if desired, and playability of a standard ball and, by its very nature, has superior durability. If desired, the ball may be molded as a one-piece unitary structure, although the two-part ball is preferred.
Through production of balls from the select master mold, and using these balls to make additional molds, the production product will have uniformity of size and surface configuration superior to any of the existing commercial products known to the present inventor. The detail and superior appearance of this ball is obtained primarily from the metal mold which is preferably an electro-formed nickel and/or copper mold. In order to faithfully reproduce the stitch holes of the leather covered product, nickel pins or the like are inserted in the ball master prior to plating. When the mold is complete, these nickel pins become an integral part of the mold.
As a result, balls which are produced in the mold, using a basic core and the material discussed above, have a feel and an appearance including the leather grain, the stitching and even the stitch holes so as to provide a substantially true simulation of a standard type of leather covered ball. The ball is superior to current commercial products. It is superior to leather covered balls in durability (no torn stitches, superior scuff resistance, moisture resistance, retention of shape during play, etc.) and uniformity in that ball variations in the leather product are extreme compared to a molded product. The ball is superior to existing molded products in duplicating the appearance and feel of the stitched leather product, unlike the conventional molded product which is obviously different.
The objects and advantages of this invention become apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.